Sci-Fi Storm

Here are some of the big and our favorite stories we covered in 2012…

In January, rapidly rising British actor Benedict Cumberbatch joined Star Trek: Into Darkness, while CW’s Arrow dropped “Green” from the name and named Stephen Amell the lead actor.

We lost actor Ian Abercrombie and the voice of the Robot from Lost In Space Dick Tufeld.
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In case you missed it (like I apparently did), the short-lived Fox series (do we say that too much? 🙂 ) Terra Nova comes to [asin=B004LROMS4]DVD[/asin] today!

The DVD set includes 4 discs for all 11 episodes plus bonus features including deleted scenes, a gag real, and more! Apparently, mysteriously no Blu-ray release is planned at this time…

The show was good, but was likely too expensive to continue due to the massive visual effects, and an agreement couldn’t be reached on a second cheaper season. But that doesn’t mean the story ended – a motion comic will continue the series at terranovastory.com, which appears to be for purchasers of the discs…so order your discs today (and help us out if you use the above links!)

Well, it looks like the last chance at rescue for 20th Century Fox TV’s Terra Nova has come and gone. Netflix, the internet video subscription service, had been in talks to take over the series if they could reduce the per-episodes costs. But apparently the numbers still didn’t work for the expensive show, and Netflix passed on it.

It’s uncertain if Fox still has hopes – they have not formally released the actors yet, but star Jason O’Mara is filming a western pilot for CBS and Allison Miller is filming the Matthew Perry-starred NBC comedy pilot Go On, so they aren’t at least sitting waiting for the phone to ring.

Word came late last night that Fox has officially canceled Terra Nova. The move is definitely not surprising, as Fox has been hesitant to pull the trigger for so long, which would have made getting a second series completed on time a struggle. The network had been trying to figure out how they might be able to produce a second season much cheaper than the first, with the producers bringing forward a number of potential showrunners the take the reins.

But hope is not lost yet – 20th TV will begin shopping the show to other networks. It’s a long shot, but there could still be a chance.

Fox’s entertainment president Kevin Reilly spoke at the Television Critics Association’s Winter Press Tour, and he mentioned Terra Nova and Fringe specifically. No decisions have been made on either for renewal, but should come soon, but it is looking pretty bleak for Fringe.

First, on Terra Nova – Reilly admits they made money. “We made money on it, the studio made money on it, and it seems to have resonated with the family audience.” So why haven’t they renewed it already? “If we had more holes in our network, we’d be thrilled to lock that right in.” So it appears there isn’t much room and they might be looking at a bigger margin with something else. But also he said the show was hunting for an identity, trying to be too many things at once, and they are working on it.

Of Fringe, the news was far from hopeful. Although he shares the fan’s passion for the show, Reilly said, “We lose a lot of money on the show. At that rating on [Friday] night it’s almost impossible for us to make money.” Of course that won’t resonate with fans at all, who originally criticized the move to the Friday slot as an attempt to kill the show. “We are not in the business of losing money, so we’re trying to figure out if there a number at which we can continue with the series. We haven’t even sat down with the producers yet.” Another bad sign there…

No decision has yet been made by Fox on the renewal of Terra Nova after last night’s 2-hour season finale, which fared slightly before last week’s season-low ratings by getting 7.2 million viewers, but to provide a little breathing room the producers are picking up the options on the contracts of series stars Jason O’Mara and Stephen Lang, and they are looking to pick up some heavyweight writers to help out with a second season. With some of the contract pressure off, Fox is expected to decide on its fate in January (and I suspect after some cost negotiations for the expensive show).

Apple has compiled it’s annual “Rewind” list, which lists the top downloads on it’s iTunes service, and in the U.S. it was a British SF show that beat all comers. Doctor Who topped the list of TV Season downloads, joined by True Blood and The Walking Dead among the genre in the top 10. The Walking Dead had the top-selling single episode, “What Lies Ahead”, with Terra Nova‘s “Instinct” at 6th and Smallville‘s “Finale, Parts 1 and 2” at 10th.

In movies, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 was named “Best Blockbuster”, while Source Code was 7th among movie downloads.

I think I like this “micro review” format for things that just recently aired. It’s not a full-fledged review that would require another viewing and even more typing, but it gets my thoughts out there – feel free to add your own. Warning: Here there may be dragons-er, spoilers…
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It’s still a long way off from hitting the airwaves still, but /Film has some of the first images from the Fox/Dreamworks series Terra Nova, being produced by Steven Spielberg.

Terra Nova stars Jason O’Mara (Life On Mars) as Jim Shannon, the father of a family who travel into the prehistoric past to escape the doom of civilization. From the press release:

From executive producers Steven Spielberg, Peter Chernin, Brannon Braga (24, “Star Trek: Enterprise”) and David Fury (“Lost,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) comes an epic family adventure 85 million years in the making.
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Could Steven Spielberg’s Terra Nova series be in trouble? Insiders say no, but 20th Century Fox Television has apparently laid off the entire writing staff, although show runner Brannon Braga still remains. Fox has reportedly changed its mind about when to debut the series – originally planned as a mid-season January start, they have decided to postpone it until Fall 2011 and instead do a two-hour pilot movie to air in May. Letting the writers go is seen as a cost-cutting measure in the meantime, and the writers will be rehired if available when production picks up again – if it picks up. Welcome to Fox, Steven…have you met Joss?